Court safeguards documents

Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit Court has installed an enterprise content management (ECM) system as part of its disaster preparedness plan. The ECM software will help keep important documents secure and accessible.

The Court has chosen the DocuShare ECM from Xerox, as well as Omtool AccuRoute enterprise document capture, routing and fax solutions, to create a centralized online file repository. The repository provides safe storage, easy management of legal records and the ability to retrieve documents when needed, according to a recent press release from Xerox.

"No matter what emergency situation we were facing, our disaster plan had to include a document management strategy that permits access to legal papers," says Abdiel Ortiz, technology officer for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. "DocuShare is a robust knowledge sharing tool that will not only enhance our everyday productivity but also help eliminate any long-term interruption of service."

DocuShare is part of the Judicial Circuit Court’s remote duplicate data recovery system, also created to support its disaster plan. Critical legal content--such as digitally recorded sessions, the scheduling calendar and media files--have been loaded and backed up into the system. In an emergency, officials can switch to the recovery site to access critical documents, Xerox reports.

The ECM system is used day to day, not just for disasters. Judges use DocuShare, for example, to deliver papers online to colleagues, store case notes and access documents in real time in the courtroom. Also, faxes can be routed to the repository and viewed online.